The Wild Goose – The Holy Spirit

Why the Wild Goose?

Because apart from the Wild Goose there is no life.
The Wild Goose was a term that the ancient Celts had for the Holy Spirit.

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-by Rev. David Pivonka, TOR

“From the first time I heard this it stirred something in my heart. Yes, there is a wildness to the Holy Spirit. The dominant images of the Holy Spirit are a meek dove or a flickering flame of a candle, both of which are in one way accurate. But the Holy Spirit is more than that. God’s Spirit is power and blows not merely like a gentle breeze but at times like a raging wind. Sometimes, this power makes us nervous. We like the idea of the Holy Spirit as a flame on a candle but a raging fire often causes anxiety. Our first instinct is to get it under control. It’s hard to control a wild goose; believe me, I know.

In the 19th Chapter of Acts, St Paul meets a group of disciples who “have never heard of the Holy Spirit” (v.2). I’ve long been convinced that too many people today have the same sentiment as the people St. Paul encountered. Sure, perhaps most have heard something of the Holy Spirit, but their experience of the Holy Spirit is very limited. The idea of God wanting us to encounter the Holy Spirit, to have a relationship with the Holy Spirit is a foreign concept for far too many people.

The Wild Goose Project is a simple attempt to invite Catholic Christians into a more profound life giving relationship with the Holy Spirit. This is a relationship marked by the love of God which breathes life into our daily existence. The Holy Spirit is not merely something relegated to Confirmation but the Spirit desires a relationship with us that will take us on the greatest adventure imaginable; a journey to the very Heart of God. The Holy Spirit desires to be present to us in a manner that brings light out of darkness, freedom out of bondage, order out of chaos and life out of death.

Such is the power of the Wild Goose.”

Love,
Matthew